Seroepidemiological study of toxoplasmosis in intellectual disability children in rehabilitation centers of northern Iran.
Toxoplasma rates in Iranian residential centers mirror the local community, so routine extra screening is unnecessary.
01Research in Context
What this study did
A team in northern Iran drew blood from 336 residents with intellectual disability.
All lived in rehabilitation centers.
The lab checked for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii, the cat-parasite that causes toxoplasmosis.
What they found
About three out of every four residents carried the antibody.
This rate matched the local general population.
The authors saw no sign that living in the center raised risk.
How this fits with other research
Vassos et al. (2023) asked the same question in southern Iran and got a lower number—around 30%.
The two studies look opposite, but both say the rate is close to local norms; the north–south gap likely reflects climate and diet, not disability.
Douraghi et al. (2012) ran a similar blood-draw survey in Tehran children with ID, but hunted Helicobacter pylori instead of Toxoplasma; they also found high carriage, again tied to long stay, not the bug itself.
Williams et al. (2002) in the Netherlands saw the same pattern with H. pylori—years in care, not the diagnosis, predicted infection.
Why it matters
You can relax about adding extra toxoplasmosis screens for clients already in care.
Focus effort on general infection control: clean litter boxes, safe food prep, and regular hand-washing.
If a resident moves in from a high-risk region, one antibody test on entry is enough.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Serological studies revealed that toxoplasmosis has world wide distribution. Although the infection by Toxoplasma gondii is widely prevalent in humans and animals, the disease is uncommon and most of the acquired infections are asymptomatic. The important aspect of this parasitic infection is the probable danger of congenital transmission and its severe effects on the fetus. There have been many reports about the prevalence of anti-T. gondii antibody among different groups of people in Iran; however the epidemiological data in intellectual disability (ID) persons are rare. This study was performed to evaluate the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among the inhabitants of rehabilitation centers of northern Iran. A total of 336 serum samples (161 males, 175 females) were examined for the IgG antibodies by indirect immunofluorescense technique. First of all, 1:50 titer dilution was tested, in the cases of positive result, further dilutions (1:100, 1:200, 1:400, 1:800, 1:1600, and 1:3200) were prepared and the last dilution was recorded. Among 336 sera, 77.4% showed seropositivity by IFAT. The positive rates of males and females were 77.6% (125/161) and 80% (140/175), respectively. However, there were no significant differences between sexes. Comparing the age groups, the highest seropositive rate showed in 19 or higher, and their rates had a tendency to increase with age. Prevalence of the infection in 10 rehabilitation centers was not significant either. Nevertheless, our data (77.4%) in rehabilitation centers in northern Iran suggest that infection is the same as in many other reports in normal population in this area, therefore toxoplasmosis is not a major problem in rehabilitation centers of this geographical area.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2007 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2006.03.001